The Situation for July

In last month’s newsletter, we asked:
On your way down from a short, out-and-back hike to a popular historic outlook, something catches your eye. Stranded crackers, chips and a twist-tie are left on a picnic-perfect granite slab where earlier you noticed some college students snacking. Thinking that you could definitely recognize the party who was eating there, and that you could easily catch up to them, what would you do?

This is what you said:
Leftover crackers, chips, twist ties? And I’m pretty sure I know who left them on the rock? And I think I could catch up with them? I’d pick them up, hike down to catch up with the group, and politely tell them that they forgot something…the dialogue would be something like: “Excuse me. Are these yours? I saw you sitting on the rock where I found these. I’m sure you didn’t intentionally leave them behind, because you’re probably aware these leftovers and wrappings may not be great for the environment. Nevertheless, if you don’t want them back, I’d be happy to toss them. Enjoy the rest of your hike!”
-Liz Fitzgerald

If the group is not in earshot of the party, the food is abandoned. Collect all of it as either food for yourself or trash. Since the route is short, it is more likely trash to me. I would not make any attempt to catch up with the group and would proceed according to my own hike plan.
-John Blocher

Given the situation the first thing I would do is take a picture then pack out the trash. Assuming that I would run into the offenders, and I was sure it was them, I would approach them and start talking about how nice the day is and how great a place we are fortunate to have and visit. Hopefully this would start some friendly conversation. Then I would turn the conversation to conservation, “You know how important it is that people don’t deface this wonderful area” and “how would you feel if you went to some nice spot and found it had been trashed and violated. ”Assuming, there were following my thoughts I would then announce “You will not believe what I just found back on the rocks” and with this I would show the garbage I found. I would tell them I found the rock crying and the animals scared because of the trash. And, how happy they were when I picked everything up. I would assume that these people did not know they were doing something wrong and that I could show them how this behavior is not consistent with the good type of people they are.
-Jay Dement

I’ve done something similar in situations similar but not exactly the same. I would probably collect the stuff, then when I caught up with them I would be all perky and dumb and say something like, “OMG! I’m so glad I caught up with y’all! Y’all dropped all this stuff accidentally and I know you didn’t mean to leave it! You might need it!!” As I was saying that, I’d push the stuff into their hands. (People usually tend to reach out to take something if you hand it to them.) Since I’m old enough that I’d probably remind them of their mom, it usually works. The “dumb mom” act can defuse any defensive mechanism that might kick in on the part of the kids. If they reacted well, I might even go a step farther and give them a VERY brief Leave No Trace spiel. If they got defensive anyway, I would just leave, taking whatever stuff they didn’t take with me. Worth a try, anyway...
-Sandra Sallee

Crackers chips twist tie and students. First gotta pack it out. If I were able to catch them I would confront return and explain a little Leave No Trace. Assuming they were caught up with the beauty of the area and were absent minded the Leave No Trace information presented would serve as a lesson for their next outing. If not able to catch them proper disposal and I still feel good.
-John C. Cary

“What I would do first is clean up the mess. Leaving it behind may give others the impression that's it's okay to leave things like that behind. If you can then catch up to the suspect group, ask them if they left the debris behind. If the answer is no, thank them for leaving no trace. If the answer is yes, tell them you cleaned up the mess, and offer to dispose of it, or offer it to them so they may dispose of it. In any case, be polite and friendly, and ask that they practice Leave No Trace in the future, and offer suggestions on how that may be done. For example: Carry their supplies out in a plastic or paper bag thay can be used as a trash bag at clean up time.”
-Dan West

The Leave No Trace e-tour responds:
Engaging in conversations with fellow outdoor users can often be a sensitive issue for both parties. Being familiar with a technique called the “ Authority of the Resource” is a solid approach to entering into a friendly constructive dialogue with other outdoor users who might be engaging in actions considered to be less than Leave No Trace. This particular scenario was a true-life experience, and I’ll respond by recounting the resolution.

I gathered up the litter and crumbs in a baggie that had come from my own snacks. At a point where the group had to pause to allow safe passage over some slippery granite, I opened the conversation with a friendly hello, and a comment about how even the short hike had made me hungry. Mentioning that I had seen them consuming some tasty snacks, I remarked that I was looking forward to my lunch back at the car. Now knowing that I had engaged the correct group of users, we had a conversation on how animals might become ill from eating human food, as we might if we ate the animals’ food. I explained the idea of the litter as a social impact from a visitor’s perspective instead of the simple “feeding the birds” which was the intent of their actions. When I showed the group the litter I had collected, not only did they apologize for me having to do so, but offered me a granola bar to stave off my grumbling stomach.

For Dr. Wallace’s work go to: http://carhart.wilderness.net/docs/manuals/waappg.pdf

I’m Not Here To Make Friends

I heard a story on NPR a week ago about the use of the culturally unfortunate and overused phrase on reality TV programs, “I’m not here to make friend.” The story made a real impression, as we live in a time where it now seems virtuous to articulate the extent that we’re all on this earth looking out for Number One. As Leave No Trace leans heavily on “community” to get its important work done, I have been thinking about how possible our tactics are in the shadow of a culture where the positive power of community is diminished every day.

Consider yesterday. I was faced with a choice, while I walked my dog on Mount Sanitas in the Boulder foothills. I watched a woman ignore her dog as it chased a deer for a couple of minutes on a hillside above her within her view. Though well versed in one of Leave No Trace’s frequently-sited texts, “Authority of the Resource" by Dr. George Wallace, an inevitable part of me, while appalled watching this little animal/human drama unfold, wanted to merely mind my own business.

Then, another distasteful instinct scrolled across my subconscious: “I’m not here to make friends.” I wanted to race down into the valley and throttle the woman. This woman was disrupting the flow of wildlife. She was endangering the deer and her dog. Before all of the eyes on the trail yesterday afternoon, she was potentially compromising the rest of our coveted, off-leash dog access.

The bottom line is that neither of these initial instincts would likely have a positive, long-term outcome. The “Authority of the Resource” concept is based upon the notion: “Desirable behavior is more likely to occur if people understand how their actions affect the way nature operates.”

When there is no official authority available, when does the community step in? What would you have done? Beyond enforcement, what is the best way, in the moment, in a natural setting to approach people and talk with them about behaviors or actions?

Call us if your curious about the “Authority of the Resource” concept or to request more information. Goggling “Authority of the Resource George Wallace” will also yield a PDF of his article.

The Story of Lost Lake

Good morning!

I wanted to relay a story from this past weekend that I thought we may all relate to and see what you all think...We all wear many different hats - employee, supervisor, parent, spouse, recreationist - and it's alway interesting to see how and when these different parts of our life intertwine.

Last weekend, I went camping at Lost Lake, just outside of the Indian Peaks Wilderness in Colorado. Lost Lake is a very popular hiking and camping spot, only 1.5 miles in from a trailhead that is frequented by people from Denver and Boulder.

There are designated campsites around the lake, but you do not need a permit to camp there; though you do for the surrounding Wilderness area. Our intention was to camp at the lake, but, knowing it was first come -first served, we got a permit anyway, in case we had to hike further up the trail.

Wanting to get an early start, we set off in the morning and were at the lake in plenty of time to have our pick of a few different sites. Good thing we did! As the morning turned into the afternoon, the lake quickly became populated with other hikers and backpackers. Even though the sites filled up, that did not stop the influx of people wanting to camp. The lake contains 9 designated campsites, in my estimation there were 10-12 groups there, a couple that were right next to the water and the trail. In addition, I counted 3 addition fire rings in the woods behind our site, places where others had camped in the past.

Overuse of the resource is clearly an issue at this spot, as there were signs posted everywhere for areas the were being revegetated, a couple of them right along a social trail out to a cool rock outcropping.

This situation reminded me of the Authority of the Resource Technique (ART), which emphasizes the use of "education" instead of "regulation" and using the "voice" of the natural resource (not the authority figure) to promote conservation.

This weekend I was just a person enjoying the outdoors, not necessarily a spokesperson for the Center for Outdoor Ethics. What would you have done in this situation? Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to say something, but didn't? Or maybe you said something...what the outcome positive or negative? What did you learn?

Thanks for your thoughts! Email me if you want a copy of that article.

Sarah

The Defender

Spiezer after her recent Leave No Trace speech for Toastmasters.

Yesterday I had a conversation with long-time Leave No Trace advocate, Lindy Spiezer, who heads up marketing at Leki. To add to her growing collection of work to push the Leave No Trace ethics into sight lines the American public, Spiezer added another unusual act of activism to her long list—at her last Toastmasters session, she gave a speech on the Leave No Trace concept: Authority of the Resource.

The exceptional Spiezer has been unwavering in her passion and volunteerism for “environment” in many forms over the years. From developing local recycling programs in the 80s to speaking out about the Outdoor Industry’s accountability regarding to the environmental ideals they were peddling before it was in fashion, she has been a trendsetter.

Check out her partnership profile later on this week in Leave No Trace’s eNews if you want to learn more about her.